you could help save my friend’s life

[hatam_soferet]

I’ve got a friend at shul.

He’s a lovely guy, he’s got a lovely family, and he’s got leukemia.

A bone marrow transplant could save his life. But so far, no-one on the bone marrow registers is a match for him.

Registering is a matter of a cheek swab. Actual donating, should you be a match, isn’t quite as simple (in a nutshell, this is why one isn’t halakhically obligated to register for these things), but…but you save someone’s life.

Information for people in all locations is at http://www.mattfenstercircle.org/

Information for people in New York, especially if you are going to the Salute to Israel Parade in New York City on Sunday, May 23, under the cut…

Please consider becoming a potential donor at one of these locations:

Temple Emanu-El, 1 E. 65th Street (between 5th and Madison), New York, NY
12 noon to 5 pm

Central Park Summer Stage (enter at E. 69th or E. 72nd, both at 5th Ave)
12 noon to 7 pm

If you are in Manhattan or the Bronx on Sunday, May 16

please consider becoming a potential donor at one of these locations:

MANHATTAN: The Jewish Center, 131 West 86th Street, NY, NY
10am to 3pm

BRONX: Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale (CSAIR), 475 West 250th St, Riverdale, NY
9am to 5pm

Mirrored from hasoferet.com.

Comments

Donating isn't actually so un-simple

[http://www.google.com/profiles/116266188916239477858]

I think many people have pretty draconian images of what being a bone marrow donor is like. The reality today is just not that bad. There are two procedures: 1) bone marrow donation and 2) peripheral stem cell donation. Bone marrow donation requires a short procedure usually with a local anesthetic to retrieve some marrow from a bone, usually the hip. I've heard it described as a feeling of pressure with some discomfort for a day or two afterward, but not painful. Peripheral stem cell donation requires taking a drug about a week ahead of time, which causes (in addition to its intended action) some slight side effects of feeling a bit crummy by the end of the week, akin to a bad cold. The procedure is very similar to donating blood, except there are two IV lines, one in each arm, and for a number of hours (appx. 4-6) blood is taken from one arm, run through a cell separator to remove the stem cells, and put back into the other arm. With a pleasant companion to bring you milk and cookies, it's not such a bad way to spend an afternoon, considering you save someone's life.

Re: Donating isn't actually so un-simple

[hatam_soferet]

Still more than a cheek swab, as I said.

But point stands.

[lavendersparkle]

Are we already on the possible donor list if we're signed up with the Anthony Nolan Trust?

[watersword]

I'm already in the registry, but I'll keep your friend in my thoughts.